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Reviewing milestone with rpadam
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Old Wellington, Manchester
Manchester
M3 1SW
Pub Type
Nicholsons (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Old Wellington
Actually so did I. This and the next door Oyster bar look like ancient monuments and in reality they are.
The Old Wellington is a 17th Century family home and John Byrom, the English poet, was born here in 1692. As mentioned by previous reviewers, these pubs have been moved twice in their history, the first time in the 70’s to be actually inside the old Arndale shopping centre, and it’s fitting to think of a building this old being saved by the concrete walls of that 70’s architectural monstrosity when the IRA bomb exploded and the two pubs got away with superficial damage. They were then moved again in 1998 to their present location when the Millennium area of the City centre was redeveloped.
I believe it was a former M&B chain pub, but is now part of the Nicholsons group and, looking at the previous reviews I would say the beer quality and quantity has now improved.
The downstairs bar now supports 8 hand pumps and seven were going at the time of our visit. These included Twaites Nutty Black, Acorn Barnsley Bitter, Jennings Cumberland and Lancaster Red all of which were good.
The two upstairs rooms are reserved for dining, so a disadvantage is that only the small downstairs bar is for drinking only and there is very limited seating and standing room in here. But it does benefit from the large outside benched drinking area, which wasn’t that much in use as it was freezing outside, and another disadvantage is that you have to drink out of plastic if you are going outside.
As Danny says, it’s a bit twee and certainly a tourist trap, but I really liked it here, and you are drinking in a bit of history.
On 12th February 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2122 recommendations about 2001 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Old Wellington
Ok it could be twee or corny, but I rather like this pub, and its neighbour the Oyster House.
On the negative side its all rather busy & touristy, especially outside in fine weather. But its an historic interior, rather small with flag stones and beams and little lead windows. Beer quality wasn't brilliant, despite being in Good Beer Guide 2010, but its 8 out of ten for me for this pub.
Worth visiting the Cathedral over the street if timing is right.
On 31st August 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
elizabeth mcgraw left this review about The Old Wellington
Very busy single bar downstairs and an upstairs drinking area also has an outside drinking area with parasols for the diehard smokers. 3 real ales on tap. very loud music
On 13th July 2007
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 252 recommendations about 249 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Clive Thompson left this review about The Old Wellington
This is the better looking of two adjoining historic pubs, the other being Sinclairs Oyster Bar, that are collectively known as The Shambles. An alternative name is The Great Survivors given that the pubs have both been moved twice, the first time in the 1970's when the Arndale Centre was built and again in the late 1990's to allow for regeneration of the area after the IRA bomb blast.It has a nice old feel to it with leaded windows, aged timbers and stone floors. They had posters advertising an upcoming beer festival, hope there will be something more interesting than the GK IPA, Broadside and Boddies that we were faced with. They're happy to take off the sparklers for us southerners.
On 14th April 2007
- rating: 7
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]